Material feeding apparatus



SePt- 13, 1966 J. H. KAUFFMAN 3,272,562

MATERIAL FEEDING APPARATUS Filed July 6, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 13, 1966 J. H. KAUFFMAN MATERIAL FEEDING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 6, 1965 Arron/5v5.

sept. 13, 1966 Filed July 6, 1965 J. H. KAUFFMAN 3,272,562

Arrow/sys.

Sept. 13, 1966 J. H. KAUFFMAN 3,272,562

MATERIAL FEEDING APPARATUS Filed July 6, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet @L JOHN H /qz/FFMAN,

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United States Patent O M 3,272,562 MATERIAL FEEDING APPARATUS John H. Kauffman, Crystal Lake, lil., assigner to Herbert Simpson Corporation, Chicago, lill., a corporation of Illinois Filed July 6, 1965, Ser. No. 469,826 13 Claims. (Cl. 302-55) The present invention relates generally to material feeding apparatus and, more particularly to apparatus for feeding metered quantities of material into a fluid transport system. The present invention is an improvement over the structures described and claimed in the copending United States patent applications Serial No. 350,162, filed March 9, 1964, now Patent No. 3,197,261, July 27, 196,5, and Serial No. 226,339, filed September 26, 1962, now Patent No. 3,197,260, July 27, 1965, which applications are assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved material feeding apparatus which is capable of feeding selectively adjustable metered batches of a variety of different types of material.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved material feeding apparatus especially adapted for use in feeding metered quantities of material into a fluid transport system.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved material feeding apparatus having an expansible valve chamber adjustable to provide metered batches of selected quantity varying from very small quantities to large quantities of several hundred pounds.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved apparatus for feeding metered batches of material from a supply hopper into a fluid delivery conduit wherein the fluid flow into the conduit is intermittent and is directed into the conduit only when the hopper is sealed from the conduit.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved material feeding apparatus having means `for accurately controlling the size of the batches of material being delivered.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved material feeding apparatus having means for accurately selecting the batch sizes including means for making a rough size adjustment and means for making fine adjustments in batch size.

Briefly, the foregoing `and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by the provision of a new and improved apparatus for feeding material into a moving iluid stream, which apparatus comprises an expansible valve chamber having an upper member and a lower mem- -ber relatively movable with respect to each other. The upper member includes a material inlet at the upper end thereof and an inwardly tapering valve seat encircling the inlet, while the lower member has a material outlet at its lower end for connection to the fluid conduit and an inwardly tapering valve seat encircling the out-let. Bellows means provide a sealed connection between the upper and lower members and permit the members to be moved toward or away from each other to effect a change in the volume of the feeding valve chamber. Valve means are positioned within the valve chamber for movement therein to seat against the upper valve seat, thereby terminating the supply of material from the chamber during a feeding cycle as material is fed out of the valve chamber into the fluid stream. The valve means include at least one substantially cylindrical, resilient valve disk secured on reciprocal rod means extending into the valve chamber in axial alignment with the inlet. The rod means is reciprocally movable within the valve chamber to effect opening and seating of the valve disk on the upper seat and is externally connected to an operating means which 3,272,562 Patented Sept. 13, 1966 imparts the desired reciprocal movement thereto. Adjustable support means, connected between the upper and lower members of the valve chamber, secure the members in selected spaced relation to one another and thereby control the chamber volume and, hence, the feed rate of the apparatus. The bellows means seals the upper and lower members of the valve chamber and permits the spacing between them to be adjusted through a wide range to vary the feed rate of the apparatus.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a new and improved material feeding apparatus constructed in accordance with the features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 taken substantially along ya line corresponding to the line 2 2 of FIG. 1 land illustrating the valve member in one of its operative positions;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along a line corresponding substantially to the line 3 3 of FIG. 2, assuming that the latter shows the entire construction;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but illustrating the feeding valve chamber in an expanded position;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, sectional view showing an alternate embodiment of a valve member or disk for use in the apparatus of FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a typical control system -for actuating the feeding apparatus of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings and, first, to FIGS. 1 to 4, inclusive, therein is illustrated one embodiment of a new and improved apparatus 10 for feeding batches of solid material, such as sand, various bonding agents, and the like, into a fluid delivery duct i12 for transportation to a remote or distant location. The feeding apparatus 10` includes a supply hopper 14 having an open upper end, a pair of inwardly sloping sidewalls 16, a vertical sidewall 18, and a downwardly and inwardly sloping bottom wall 20. The supply hopper 14 has an upper peripheral horizontal flange or rim 22 extending entirely around its open upper end `to facilitate 'connection to the lower end of a large storage bin or material container (not shown). The sloping bottom wall `20 is provided with an enlarged opening 20a covered by an expanded metal grate 24 to prevent large lumps of material from passing downwardly therethrough, yet permitting airflow upwardly into the hopper.

An aerator assembly 26 (FIG. 2) is mounted on the undersurface of the bottom wall y20 below the opening 20a and includes a housing or air chamber 28 secured to the wall by screws 30. A first screen or grate 32 having relatively large openings therein is positioned within the housing 28 below a second screen 34 having smaller openings therein to prevent material flow downward while, at the same time, permitting airflow upwardly from the 'aerator into the hopper. The screens 32 and 34 are separated from one another by a sealing gasket 36, and the screen 34 is spaced from the grate 24 in the bottom of the hopper by another sealing gasket 38. Pressur-ized air is supplied to the housing 28 of the aerator through an inlet fitting 40 and moves upwardly through the screens 32 and 34 and the hopper grate 24 to aerate and agitate the material in the supply hopper, causing it to flow more readily along the bottom Wall 20.

The vertical sidewall 18 of the hopper includes an enlarged outlet opening 18a adjacent the lower central portion thereof for permitting mate-rial in the hopper to llow directly into a vert-ical feed chamber 42 secured to the outer surface of the vertical wall. The feed chamber is secured to the wall 18 by a plurality of screws 44, and a gasket 46 is disposed between the feed chamber 42 and the hopper 14 to provide an airtight seal.

In order to control the flow of material from the hopper 14 by altering the area of flow through the opening 18a int-o the feed chamber 42, an adjustable gate or valve plate 48 is secured to the vertical wall 18 for vertical sliding movement thereon between selected positions. The gate 48 is held in a selected position on the wall 18 by a plurality of wing nuts 50 and clamping plates 52, and an upper clamp S4 secured by screws 56 is provided to hold the upper portion of the gate against the wall 18 while permitting vertical movement of the gate during its adjustment.

The feed chamber 42 includes a pair of vertical sidewalls 58, a top Wall 60, a bottom wall 62, and a removable front wall or cover 64 formed of clear plastic material, such as Plexiglas, a trademark of Rohm & Haas Co., to permit the operator to view the interior of the feed chamber. The top wall 60 comprises an elongated channel having upwardly exten-ding flanges 60a and 60h at its opposed ends. The sidewalls 58 are formed by channel-shaped members having flanges 58a (FIG. 1) facing the cover wall 64 and also having flanges 5811 bearing `against the gasket 46 between the hopper 14 and feed chamber 42. The bottom wall 62 has a depending outer flange 62a (FIG. 2) facing the cover wall 64. rPhe flanges 58a, 60b, and 62a form a peripheral bearing surface against which the cover wall 64 and a sealing gasket 66 are tightly secured. The cover wall 64 is held in place by means of an outer frame 68 and a plurality of removable wing nut assemblies 70. `If it becomes necessary to clean out the interior of the feeding chamber 42, or adjust the position of the gate 48, the cover wall 64 can be removed by loosening the wing nut assemblies 70 to release the outer frame 68.

A screen assembly 72 is positioned between the upper and lower ends of the feed chamber 42 to prevent passage of lange lumps of material downwardly into the lower portion of the chamber and through the discharge outlet thereof. The screen assembly 72 is secured to a pair of side brackets 74, each of which is fastened to one of the sidewalls 58 by bolts 76. It should be noted that the screen slopes upwardly toward the wall 64 to lie in an approximately normal or perpendicular angular relation to the flow of material along the bot-tom wall 20 of the supply hopper 14.

In order to aid in moving the material through the screen, a pair of air nozzles 78 are positioned to extend inwardly from opposing sidewalls 58 of the feed chamber 42 `and direct airflow into the material in the feeding chamiber so that it will be aerated and agitated to flow freely and move through the screen 72.

In order to further aid in moving and agitating the material in the hopper 14 an-d feed chamber 42, a fluid operated Vibrator 79 may be mounted on the lower end portion of the wall 118 (FIG. 6) to vibrate the entire hopper and feed chamber structure.

The lower wall 62 of the feed chamber is provided with a centrally disposed circular aperture or discharge outlet 80 which is in communication with the inlet and upper end of a vertically expansible valve chamber 82 positioned directly beneath the feeding chamber 42. Material in supply hopper 14 flows through the opening 18a in the sidewall 18 into the feeding chamber 42 and downwardly through the outlet 80 into the expansible valve chamber 82. v

The valve chamber 82 includes a fixed, generally conical, upper section 84 tapering downwardly and outwardly, a cylindrical intermediate section 86, a movable, lower conical section 88 tapering downwardly and inwardly, and a longitudinally expandable bellows section 90, sealingly interconnecting the fixed upper section 84 and the movable lower section 88. The fixed upper section 84 has a small diameter opening 84a at the upper end in communication with the discharge outlet 80 of the feeding chamber 42. The internal surface of the conical wall section forms an upper, conically shaped valve seat below the inlet of the cham-ber. An outwardly extending, annular, radial flange 92 is welded, or otherwise secured, to the upper end of the conical section 84 and is bolted to the underside of the bottom wall 62 of the feeding chamber 42 by a plurality of bolts 94. An annular sealing gasket 96 is disposed between the bottom wall 62 and the flange 92 to provide an airtight seal between the upper end of the valve chamber and the feeding chamber. Another outwardly extending, annular, radial llange 98 is secu-red to the lange diameter lower end of the upper section 84 to support the cylindrical intermediate section 86 of the valve chamber. A large, outwardly extending support flange 100 is welded to the upper end of the intermediate section 86 of the valve chamber, and this flange is secured to the flange 98 by a plurality of bolts 102 with a sealing gasket 104 interposed therebetween to form an airtight seal.

The upper end of the expandable bellows is connected to the underside of the flange outwardly of the cylindrical section 86 by an annular clamping ring 106 secured to the flange 100 by a plurality of spaced-apart bolts 108. The clamping ring insures an airtight seal between the bellows and the flange 100. The bellows 90 are formed of rubber or suitable plastic material which is highly flexible and which will not deteriorate readily when subjected to the flow of materials being utilized in the feeding apparatus. In order to strengthen the bellows and insure a substantially circular cross section throughout the length thereof, a plurality of flexible metallic cable rings are embedded within the flexible material, as illustrated in the drawings. The lower end of the bellows 90 is sealed to the upper face of a lower support flange 112 by means of an annular clamping ring 114, similar to the ring 106, and the ring 114 is held in place by a plurality of spaced-apart bolts 116.

The lower conical section 88 of the valve chamber is connected to the underside of the lower support flange 112 by -a plurality of bolts 118 which extend through an outwardly extending, radial, annular flange welded 'to the upper or larger diameter end of the section 88. A sealing gasket 122 is interposed between the flange 120 and the lower surface of the lower support flange 112 to effect an airtight seal between the bellows 90 and the lower section 88 of the valve chamber.

The lower section 88 of the valve chamber is formed with an inwardly and downwardly extending frustoconical seating surface in concentric and facing relation with the upper conical seating surface of the upper section l84. The fluid duct 12 is in communication with the small diameter open lower end of the valve chamber, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and a bottom plate 124 (FIGS. 3 and 4) connects the lower end of the valve chamber to the fluid duct.

A vertically movable valve member 126 is positioned concentrically within the valve chamber 82 for reciprocal movement between a closed position shown in FIG. 3, wherein the upper end of the valve member is seated against the upper conical seating surface on the upper section 84, and an open position illustrated in broken lines in FIGS. 2 and 4, wherein the valve member 126 is moved downwardly away from the upper seating surface. The valve member 126 includes an upper cylindrical valve disk 128 constructed of resilient material and secured on the lower end portion of a vertically extending valve rod 130. Batches of material are delivered to the conduit `12 from the valve chamber `82 by reciprocating the rod 130 in a manner described more fully below, with the volume of material delivered during each such reciprocation being determined by the amount of material flowing into the valve chamber when the valve is open. More specifically, when the valve member is in the upper or closed position, indicated in solid lines in FIGS. 2 and 4, the upper peripheral edge of the resilient valve disk 128 seats tightly against the conical seating surface on the upper section 84, thereby preventing material from owing downwardly from the feeding chamber 42 into the valve chamber. When the rod 13G is moved downwardly to the open position shown in dotted lines in FIGS. 2 and 4, the upper valve disk 128 moves downwardly out of seating engagement with the upper seating surface, thereby permitting the flow of material from the feeding chamber 42 until the valve chamber 82 is lled. The effective volume of the valve chamber and, hence, the volume of material delivered to the conduit 12 during each reciprocation of the valve member 126, is determined by the position of the bellows 9i). When the bellows are contracted, as shown in FIG. 3, the effective volume of the valve chamber 32 is small, but when the bellows are expanded, as shown in FIG. 4, the volume of the valve chamber increases. The mechanism for controlling the expansion of the bellows to effect this volume control is described in detail hereinafter. The lower portion of the rod 130 is externally threaded to receive locking nuts 132 disposed on opposite sides of the valve disk 128 and, accordingly, the position of the disk on the rod may be adjusted as wear occurs on the upper peripheral edge of the disk. A large stiffening washer 134 is provided on the underside of the valve disk 12S to prevent excessive downward deflection thereof during seating, and a pair of lock washers 136 are interposed between the upper nut 132 and the upper surface of the valve disk 123 to prevent movement of the disk along the rod, once proper positioning has been achieved.

When very large batches `of materials are to be delivered, the valve may comprise a valve member 127 of the type shown in FIG. 5 wherein only a single disk 128 is utilized, but when small quantities of material are to be delivered to the conduit 12, a pair of vertically spaced disks are preferably provided, as illustrated in FIGS. l, 2, 3, and 4. More specifically, with the bellows contracted to effect delivery of relatively small quantities of material to the conduit 12, if it `becomes necessary to deliver `a still smaller volume, a second and lower resilient disk 12851 is secured to the rod 130 adjacent the lower end thereof. The second lower disk 128g is identical with the upper disk 128 'and is secured on the rod 136 in a similar manner by using an upper stiffening plate or washer 134a, lower washers 136a, and upper and lower nuts 1'32a. In order to further reduce the quantity of batches fed by the apparatus as illustrated, utilizing a pair of valve disks, a cylindrical spacer 1.18 is interposed 4between the upper and lower disks to further reduce the effective volume of the valve chamber. When the valve rod 130 is moved downwardly to the broken line position shown in FIG. 2 to open the inlet of the valve chamber, the lower valve disk 128a seats against the conical seating surface of the lower section 38, thus closing the communication between the duct 12 and the valve chamber. When the bellows 90 are greatly expanded, as shown in FIG. 4, to deliver large batches, this seating cannot be achieved.

The upper end of the rod 131i is connected to the outer end `of a piston rod 146 extending downwardly from a pneumatic cylinder 142 mounted on the top wall 66 of the feeding chamber. The piston rod 140 is connected to the valve yrod 130 by a coupling 144 and the lower end of ythe cylinder 142 lis mounted on a shock pad 146 to absorb shock forces transmitted to the cylinder during seating -of the valve member. The shock pad 146 also permits a limited amount of lateral movement of the valve member 126 within the valve chamber to provide self-aligned seating action `between the resilient valve disks and the conical seating surfaces. The rod 131) extends upwardly through the screen 72 in the feeding chamber 42 and also aids in agitating and aerating the material therein during batches of material, the bellows are expanded to the configuration shown in FIG. 4, and the total volume within the valve chamber is :greatly increased to accommodate a larger batch of material. The expansible bellows provide a continuous exible seal between the upper support flange 106 and the lower support tiange 112 and thus permit expansion or contraction of the valve chamber as desired. The cylindrical section 86 serves as a protective guide means for the valve member by preventing the valve member 126 from swinging laterally and engaging the inner wall of the bellows during reciprocation.

In order to maintain the valve chamber in a selected position of contraction or expansion, the upper support flange 160 is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed, upwardly extending sleeves 14S disposed on opposite sides of the central axis of the valve chamber. Each sleeve has a tubular bushing 14861 therein for permitting vertical sliding movement of a downwardly extending support rod 150. The rods 150 are provided with a plurality of vertically spaced, horizontally extending holes 150a in order to accommodate removable holding pin assemblies 152 which extend through suitable aligned pairs of apertures in the sleeves 14S and bushings 148a to support the rods in selected telescoped positions relative to the sleeve. Major adjustments in the expansion or contraction of the valve chamber 82 are accomplished by removing the pins 152 and moving the rods 150 up or down until selected ones of the holes 15tla are aligned with the apertures in the sleeves and bushings. The pins 152 are then repositioned to hold the rods in the selected position. As an example, each rod 150 is illustrated as having four horizontal holes 15051 spaced vertically at sixinch intervals along the upper portion. When the pins 152 yare inserted through the lowest holes in the rods, for bellows are contracted as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. If the pins are positioned in the upper holes, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the bellows are expanded and the valve chamber 82 has a much larger volume.

In order to support the lower movable sections of the valve chamber and the fluid duct 12, a horizontal, lower support channel 154 is carried on the lower ends of the rods 150. The support channel 154 extends horizontally, as shown in FIG. 4, and is secured to the lower end of the rods 150 by means of a pair of sleeves 156 extending upwardly therefrom to accommodate the lower ends of the rods. The rods are provided with horizontal holes 150b adjacent their lower ends to receive pins 158 which are inserted through suitable apertures in the sleeves 156 and through the holes 150b to lock the lower support channel 154 in position.

The fluid duct 12 and lower conical section 88 of the valve chamber are mounted for limited vertical movement along the rods 150 by means of sleeves 166 and bushings 168 which surround the rods and are secured to the flange 112. To effect this limited vertical movement of the lower section 88 and the duct 12 and, hence, t0 provide a tine adjustment for controlling the volume of the valve chamber 82, these members are `supported on the channel 154 by a threaded rod assembly 160 having its upper end pivotally connected to the fluid duct by a pivot pin 162 and extending downwardly through an aperture in the central port of the web of the supporting channel. A pair of adjusting nuts 164 are threaded onto the rod and, respectively seat against the upper and lower surfaces of the support channel 154 to hold the rod in the desired vertical position relative to the support channel. By adjusting the nuts 162 on the rod 160, the iluid duct and lower portion of the valve chamber can be raised or lowered between the positions shown in solid and broken lines in FIG. 3 and, in this manner, fine adjustments in the volume of the valve chamber 82 can be accomplished to provide extremely accurate control of the quantity of material in each batch.

Referring now to the schematic diagram of FIG. 6, the feeding apparatus 10 is actuated by a fluid pressure-electric control system referred to generally by the reference numeral 178. The control system 170 includes a main fluid supply line 172 adapted for connection to a suitable source of compressed fluid, such as an air compressor, and further includes an electrical control system 174 using a plurality of electrical timers 176, 178, and 188.

Fluid pressure for operating the cylinder 142, the aerator assembly 26, the feed chamber nozzles 78, and the hopper vibrator 79 carried at `the base of the hopper sidewall 18, is supplied from the line 172 through a two-position, four-way solenoid-operated valve 184. The valve 184 includes an inlet 184a, an exhaust outlet 184]), a rst outlet 184e, a second outlet 184d, and a movable valve body 186, which is illustrated as being rotatable and which has lirst and second fluid passages 186g and 18617 formed therein. When the valve member 186 is in a rst operative position, as shown in FIG. 6, the passage 186a interconnects the inlet 184a and the first outlet 184C, While the passage 186k interconnects the exhaust outlet 184b and the second outlet 184a'. The valve member is maintained in a first or normal position by a suitable valve spring (not shown) until a valve control solenoid 188, connected to the valve member, is energized with electric current from the timer 178 through a pair of control lines 190. When the solenoid is energized by the timer, the valve body 186 is turned 90 degrees in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 6, to a second position wherein the passage 186a interconnects the exhaust outlet 184b and the rst outlet 184-a, while the passage 186b interconnects the inlet 184g and the second outlet 1846!. When the solenoid 188 is de-energized, the valve body 186 is returned to the first, or normal, position by the biasing spring.

When the valve body 186 is in its normal position, fluid from the supply line 172 is directed to the lower end or upside of the cylinder 142 through an upside cylinder line 192, and fluid within the upper end or downside of the cylinder is exhausted to the atmosphere through a downside cylinder line 194. Both the upside and downside cylinder lines 192 and 194 are provided with a pair of parallel connected valves including a throttling valve 196 and a check valve 198 in order to control the flow of lluid through the respective cylinder lines into or out of the cylinder. Each of the check valves 198 permits free llow of lluid into the cylinder from the respective supply lines but restricts fluid flow out of the cylinder. Each of the throttling valves 196 is adjustable to control the rate of fluid flow out of the cylinder, thereby to control the rate of movement of the piston within the cylinder and to prevent slamming of the piston against the end of the cylinder by providing a uid cushion in the end of the cylinder opposite the pressurized end. When fluid pressure is supplied to the Iupside end of the cylinder, the valve member 126 is moved to its upper seated position (FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 6) closing olf all material ow into the valve chamber 82. When the solenoid 188 is energized, the downside of the cylinder is pressurized through the line 194, thereby opening the valve member 126 and permitting a new batch of material to ow into the valve chamber from the hopper 14 and feed chamber 42. During this time, pressurized fluid is supplied to the aerator assembly 26, the vibrator 182, and the nozzles 78 through a branch line 200 connected to the downside cylinder supply line 194. This fluid assists in causing free flow of material from the hopper and feed chamber into the valve chamber 82 when the valve member 126 is opened. Throttling valves 202 and 204 are provided to control the lluid flow to the nozzles 78 and the vibrator 79, respectively, while an adjustable pressure-reducing valve 206 is provided to control liuid flow from the line 200 to the aerator assembly 26.

In order to move the material delivered from the valve chamber 82 through flow in the conduit 12, la branch line 208 is connected to the supply line 172, and a solenoid valve 210 is provided in the branch line to control the Huid flow therethrough. The valve 210 includes an inlet 210g, an outlet 210i), and a movable valve piston or body 212 having a passage 212n therein. The valve member 212 is biased to a normally closed position, shown in FIG. 6, by spring means (not shown), and a solenoid coil 214 is mechanically connected to the valve body to move it to an open position wherein the passage 212a is aligned with the inlet 21001 and outlet 210!) when the solenoid is energized. The solenoid 216 is electrically connected to the timer 176 in the control panel 174 through lines 216, and the timer may be set to energize the solenoid for selected time intervals.

The line 208 is connected through a pair of adjustable pressure-reducing valves 218 and 22! to a valve chamber flushing nozzle assembly 222 (FIGS. 2 and 6) which supplies fluid to the upper portion of the valve chamber 82 to aid in moving the material therein downwardly into the transport duct 12. Another line 224 is connected to the branch line 288 between the values 218 and 220 for the purpose of supplying a conveying uid to .a collecting chamber disposed below the valve chamber and including the duct 12 through which the conveying uid delivers material to the desired remote location. Fluid from the line 224 is introduced into the delivery duct 12 through an adjustable nozzle assembly 226 disposed coaxially within the end of the duct (FIG. 2). The nozzle assembly 226 is movable axially between selected positions in the delivery duct, and the adjustment of this assembly, when combined with the control of the pressure of the fluid supplied by the valve 222 may be employed to control the rate at which the material is delivered. The pressure reducing valve 218 is utilized to reduce the pressure to the lluishing nozzle assembly 222 below that supplied to the delivery nozzle 226 so that the jet action of the delivery nozzle will not be greatly disturbed by the entry of the flushing lluid into the llow.

The timer 176 can be set -independently of the other timers in the control panel 174 to control the time that the ushing nozzle and the delivery nozzle are in operation or, in the alternative, this timer can be Wired into the system to operate only when the valve member 126 is closed. When material is present in the delivery duct 12, a back pressure is developed which can be utilized to control the timer 176, if desired, to shut olf liuid flow after the material has been completely exhausted from the valve chamber. After the material has been fed through the system, the back pressure in the delivery duct 12 will drop considerably since there is little resistance to flow. In order to use this phenomenon to aid in controlling the system, a pressure -sensitive switch 228 (FIG. 6) is connected to sense the pressure in the delivery duct and send an electrical signal to the control panel 174 through an electrical line 230 when the back pressure falls below a selected level. This signal can be utilized to cut off the flow through the branch line 208 and reset the timers for the next cycle of operation.

The third timer, 180, is utilized to set selected time intervals between successive batches of materials delivered, if desired, and can be set so that la new batch will be delivered every twenty minutes, for example. Once the batch sizes have been selected by adjusting the volume of the valve chamber 82, as previously described, the timers and fluid pressures can be adjusted to furnish the desired size batch or quantity of material lat selected intervals and at selected llow rates for blending into a mixer or Iother equipment.

The apparatus 10 can thus be utilized for delivering batches of material of selected sizes varying over a wide range of values, and the time interval between batches and ow rate during delivery can be accurately controlled. The invention has `great utility in use with foundry systems, wherein batch mixers and the like are used for preparing molding sand as well as in other installations requiring accurately sized batches delivered at selected time intervals.

While there have been illustrated and described various embodiments of the present invention, it will be apparent that various changes and modilications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art. It is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patents of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for feeding material into a uid conduit, said apparatus comprising a longitudinally expansible valve chamber, said valve -chamber including an upper member having a material inlet at the upper end thereof and a valve seat adjacent said inlet, and a lower member having a material outlet therein delivering material to said fluid conduit, bellows means sealingly interconnecting said upper and lower members to permit relative movement between said members to change the effective volume of said chamber; valve means in said chamber including a valve element, means extending into said chamber for supporting said valve element coaxially within said chamber and reciprocally movable to alternately seat and unseat the valve element from said valve seat, operator means externally of said chamber for reciprocally moving said supporting means to effect said alternate seating and unseating, and adjustable support means interconnected between said upper and lower members for selectively adjusting the relative spacing therebetween.

2. Apparatus as deiined in claim ll including cylindrical wall means secured to one of said members and extending toward the other within said bellows means and surrounding a portion of said valve means.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 additionally including a collecting chamber disposed below and in communication with the outlet of said valve chamber, said collecting chamber including a discharge outlet connected to said uid conduit, and nozzle means extending into said collecting chamber and axially aligned with said discharge outlet for directing a moving stream of pressurized Huid into the material in said collecting chamber to carry said material into said fluid conduit.

4. Apparatus as dened in claim 3 wherein said nozzle means is axially movable in said collecting chamber between selected positions toward and away from said discharge outlet thereof for controlling the feed rate of material from said collecting chamber into said fluid conduit.

5. Apparatus for feeding material into a fluid conduit, said apparatus comprising a longitudinally expansible valve chamber, said valve chamber including an upper member having a material inlet at the upper end thereof` and a downwardly and outwardly tapering valve seat adjacent said inlet, and a lower member having a material outlet at the lower end thereof, bellows means sealingly interconnecting said upper and lower members and permitting relative movement therebetween to change the elective volume of said chamber; valve means in said chamber including a resilient valve disk adapted for alternate seating and unseating on said valve seat, rod

means extending into said chamber coaxially aligned with,

said inlet for supporting said valve disk and reciprocally movable to eifect said alternate seating and unseating,V

operator means externally of said chamber for reciprocally moving said rod means, and adjustable support means interconnected between said upper and lower members for selectively adjusting the relative spacing therebetween.

6. The apparatus delined by claim 5 wherein said support means includes a pair of telescoping support assemblies on opposite sides `of said valve chamber.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein each of said telescoping support assemblies include a hollow sleeve connected with one of said members and a support rod slidable in said sleeve connected with the other of said members, and adjustable fastening means for maintaining the rod and sleeve in different preselected telescoping positions.

t5. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 additionally including a collecting cham-ber secured to said valve chamber below and in communication with the outlet thereof, supporting means secured to said collecting chamber and connected to the support rods of said telescoping assemblies, and a plurality `of sleeve members disposed 0n said support rods intermediate said cradle and said hollow sleeves, said sleeve members including structure joined to and extending outwardly of said lower member of said valve chamber.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said supporting means is adjustably secured to said support rods for movement between selected positions in respect thereto.

1i). Apparatus for feeding material into a fluid conduit, said apparatus comprising a longitudinally expansible valve chamber, said valve chamber including an upper member having a material inlet at the upper end thereof and an inwardly tapering valve seat encircling said inlet, and a lower member having a material outlet at the lower end thereof adapted for connection to said fluid conduit and an inwardly tapering valve seat encircling said outlet, `bellows means sealingly interconnecting said upper and lower members permitting relative movement therebetween to change the effective volume of said chamber; valve means in said chamber including a pair of spacedapart, substantially cylindrical, resilient valve disks adapted for alternate seating on respective valve seats, rod means extending into said chamber coaxially aligned with said inlet for supporting said valve disks in coaxial alignment .thereon and reciprocally movable to seat first one and the other of said disks on their respective valve seats, operator means externally of said chamber for reciprocally moving said rod means to eifect said alternate seating, adjustable support means interconnected between said upper and lower members for selectively adjusting the relative spaceing therebetween, collecting chamber means disposed below and in communication with the outlet of said valve chamber, said collecting chamber including a discharge outlet adapted for connection with said fluid conduit, nozzle means extending into said collecting chamber means and axially aligned with the discharge youtlet thereof for directing a stream of pressurized fluid into the chamber to carry said material into said fluid conduit at selectively adjustable rates of iiow.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 10 including conduit means for directing a ow of pressurized fluid into said valve chamber to flush material therefrom into said collecting chamber means at selectively adjustable intervals.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 11 including control means for controlling the flow of pressurized fluid to said nozzle means and said conduit means in selected synchronous relation with reciprocal movements of said valve disks into and out of seating engagement with their respective seating surfaces.

13. Apparatus as dened in claim 12 wherein said operator means includes a uid pressure operated cylinder and piston means connected to said rod means, and said control means includes means for controlling fluid ilow to said cylinder means for adjustably controlling the rate of reciprocation and stroke interval of said rod means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,101,159 8/1963 Fletcher 222-453 3,197,260 7/1965 Kauffman 302-55 3,197,261 7/ 1965 Kauffman 302-55 EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

A. H. NIELSEN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR FEEDING MATERIAL INTO A FLUID CONDUIT, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A LONGITUDINAL EXPANSIBLE VALVE CHAMBER, SAID VALVE CHAMBER INCLUDING AN UPPER MEMBER HAVING A MATERIAL INLET AT THE UPPER END THEREOF AND A VALVE SEAT ADJACENT SAID INLET, AND A LOWER MEMBER HAVING A MATERIAL OUTLET THEREIN DELIVERING MATERIAL TO SAID FLUID CONDUIT, BELLOWS MEANS SEALINGLY INTERCONNECTING SAID UPPER AND LOWER MEMBERS TO PERMIT RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID MEMBERS TO CHANGE THE EFFECTIVE VOLUME OF SAID CHAMBER; VALVE MEANS IND SAID CHAMBER INCLUDING A VALVE ELEMENT, MEANS EXTENDING INTO SAID CHAMBER FOR SUPPORTING SAID VALVE ELEMENT COAXIALLY WITHIN SAID CHAMBER AND RECIPROCALLY MOVABLE TO ALTERNATELY SEAT AND UNSEAT THE VALVE ELEMENT FROM SAID VALVE SEAT, OPERATOR MEANS EXTERNALLY OF SAID CHAMBER FOR RECIPROCALLY MOVING SAID CUPPORTING MEANS TO EFFECT SAID ALTERNATE SEATING AND UNSEATING, AND ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT MEANS INTERCONNECTED BETWEEN SAID UPER AND LOWER MEMBERS FOR SELECTIVELY ADJUSTING THE RELATIVE SPACING THEREBETWEEN. 